
Water, apart from shelter, can become the most immediate need in a survival situation. Drinkable water is a vital resource. Depending on the level of activity, and ambient temperature, a person can live about 3 days without water. Prolonged activity without proper hydration coupled with malnutrition will quickly lower chances for survival. Finding a way to create and maintain a source of clean drinking water is essential for both short and long term emergency preparedness. Whether you find yourself lost in the wilderness or in an urban emergency scenario such as Katrina and Toledo's water crisis, water is life. Just one day without this precious fluid and we begin to see the symptoms of dehydration.
Water filtration is probably the most common method of purification for personal consumption, mainly because of its versatility and ease of use. Water filtration systems come in many forms and sizes, some of which are even portable. The most common water filtration systems are integrated with household sinks and refrigerators by connecting to the waterline.

In this method, clean water should be brought to boil and left at rolling-boil for 1-3 minutes. For people living in high altitude areas, it is recommended to boil your water for longer than water boiled at lower altitudes. This is because water boils at lower temperatures in higher altitudes. Boiled water should be covered and left to cool before drinking. For water drawn from wells, leave it for compounds to settle before you filter out clean water for use.
Granular Activated Carbon adsorption: a form of activated carbon with a high surface area, adsorbs many compounds including many toxic compounds. Water passing through activated carbon is commonly used in municipal regions with organic contamination, taste or odors. Many household water filters and fish tanks use activated carbon filters to further purify the water. Household filters for drinking water sometimes contain silver as metallic silver nanoparticle. If water is held in the carbon block for longer periods, microorganisms can grow inside which results in fouling and contamination. Silver nanoparticles are excellent anti-bacterial material and they can decompose toxic halo-organic compounds such as pesticides into non-toxic organic products.[24] Filtered water must be used soon after it is filtered, as the low amount of remaining microbes may proliferate over time. In general, these home filters remove over 90% of the chlorine available to a glass of treated water. These filters must be periodically replaced otherwise the bacterial content of the water may actually increase due to the growth of bacteria within the filter unit.[13]
The first part of the purification tag team must eliminate microorganisms, like harmful bacteria and parasites. There are a handful of tried and true methods for doing this. The most familiar is boiling. Simply bringing water up to its boiling point of 212 degrees Fahrenheit will kill almost all microorganisms, so just a few minutes of boiling will do the job.